CHENNAI: The clay pot is to Pongal what fireworks are to Deepavali. However, two days before the harvest festival, potters here say the price of the modest clay pot has risen by more than 50 per cent this year, thanks to cyclone Thane. The price rise has had its impact with a dip in the volume of sales.A plain clay pot, large enough to be held by an adult on the palm, is being sold this season at Rs 100, a price for which you would have had a pot two sizes bigger last year. If the same pot is hand-painted in white and carries additional designs, the price rises by at least Rs 20. “Pots are made in huge numbers just ahead of the Pongal season. The clay has to be fired in kilns in order to be stiffened. But this process was affected across the State because of the rains in December-end,” says Janaki, who runs a popular pot and terracotta shop near Valluvar Kottam. Collection of clay was affected as well, as the rains rendered the sand wet and unfit for use, she explains. These have led to an increase in prices which, in turn, led to lesser sales this year, she rues. During the season, Janaki’s store sells 500 pots. She and her daughter Usha have pinned hopes on the last-minute sales during the weekend.Flowers too, which are sold in bulk during the harvest festival, have become much dearer this season because of the rains, with prices of roses, jasmine and saamandhi increasing sharply this year.More corporate houses are now displaying decorative pots to create a festive atmosphere at work, says Ranganatha Udayar, who has a shop at Kodambakkam. “Pongal pots see only two kinds of buyers — the po-or people who celebrate it ceremoniously with earthen pots and the elite corporate offices where it is a decorative item. Tho-ugh the prices have increased by 50 per cent this year, corporates don’t think twice about buying huge pots,” he says. The dip in sales, has not reached a worrisome level and there is hope to sell more pots on Saturday, says Udayar, who makes Rs 50,000 during Pongal.Flowers too, are usually sold in bulk during the festival. But this season they have become much dearer because of the rains and cyclone. The price of roses, jasmine and yellow chrysanthemum (saamandhi) have increased sharply. “We see a significant sale because of Pongal and poojas of Sabarimala pilgrims but this year, both have reduced,” says Pandian, who runs a garland store in T Nagar. Roses would cost Rs 40-50 for 100 flowers usually, but it has risen to Rs 120, says Duraisingam, who is part of an alleyway of 17 shops in Pondy Bazaar. Jasmine is priced at Rs 300 for 300 gm when its usual price is Rs 60 for 300 gm.
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